


A Fresh Start

by wyld_things



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 20:20:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13620960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyld_things/pseuds/wyld_things
Summary: Sometimes all you need, is a chance for a fresh start.





	A Fresh Start

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: If I owned the rights to the Fallout series, this story would not exist. Therefore I do not own Fallout.
> 
> This is my attempt to create a somewhat more fleshed out narrative for the Fallout 4 story.

\---

There is a path leading up behind Sanctuary. It is narrow and so overgrown that unless you know exactly where to look, you'd never be able to find it. The settlers of the small blossoming town warn their children to stay away from it as it is too far from the protection of the high walls and patrolling guards that keep the town safe. This path leads up a steep hill, through rusted metal gates and past a barbed wire fence that has managed to weather the rad storms, and inhospitable conditions of the Commonwealth. The buildings inside of the fence stand strong, if a bit battered. The windows long gone, either broken or salvaged and all the supply crates picked clean of anything useful.

But if you listen, and the air is still, the sounds of animals quite you can just possibly hear the hum of electrical power running through the ground. A hum that resonates, causing a strange itch deep in your bones.

There is something buried here. Something from the Old World. No one is quite sure what it is, but it is massive and to be so carefully hidden it must be terribly dangerous. A prison perhaps, built to contain some Pre-War monster that even the greatest of the Old World weapons couldn't destroy. There are rumors about this place, and while no one is quite sure what the truth is, none of the settlers are willing to find out...

\---

Preston Garvey wasn't entirely sure what to make of the wanderer who'd rescued the Quincy survivors from that raider ambush in Lexington. He towered over even Sturges, his skin darkened from long exposure to the Wasteland's harsh sunlight and his hair was a pale blond Preston had only seen once or twice before. Over his patched flannel shirt and jeans he wore a few pieces of leather armor, carefully oiled and clearly well cared for. The last Minuteman had watched, incredulous, as the stranger cut through the raiders as he darted from shadow to shadow close to the ruined buildings that line Lexington's main street. He used the small blade he carried more often than his sidearm and Preston found it very hard to muster up any sympathy for the Raiders. They'd clearly never had to deal with an enemy like the stranger before.

With the raiders and the massive deathclaw dead, the stranger silently followed the group as they continued to Mama Murphy's sanctuary. The clanking motorized joints of the old power armor they'd retrieved from the vertibird sending most of the insect and smaller wildlife scattering.

The stranger hadn't offered much information about himself, though Preston suspected this was due more to his naturally quiet personality than any particular desire to conceal information. He'd all but ignored Marcy's suspicion of him, choosing to concern himself with the more immediate problem of dealing with the perilous situation at hand.

Once the group crossed the old bridge leading into the old Pre-War neighborhood, the stranger separated from the group and made his way toward one of the yellow houses near the center of the town. Carefully backing up into the massive power armor rack that waited, the stranger stepped out of the armor and removed the fusion core, placing it to one side on a nearby workbench. Heavy chains were pulled down from where they hung off the rack and secured to the armor. Sturges watched the stranger's work approvingly and Preston could tell that the engineer was itching to get to work on disassembling it.

"This is a good place." Mama Murphy said, her wide smile displaying her rotting teeth. "That boy is gonna be good for us Preston. That's why Dogmeat brought him to us."

"If you say so Mama Murphy." Preston replied. He wasn't entirely sure of the stranger's motives although from what he could see, he and Sturges had hit it off pretty well. The engineer explaining something that involved a lot of hand motions and laughing while the stranger listened carefully.

"You should see about helping Jun set up camp for the night." Mama Murphy advised, shuffling toward the yellow house where Sturges and the stranger had begun rummaging through boxes for tools. "We'll be safe here for a while Preston. Ilya's made sure of that already."

"Who?" Preston blinked at her, confused.

Mama Murphy pointed toward the blond giant and chuckled to herself. "You should take a look around too, get a feel for the place."

Preston stared after her, before following. He stowed his own pack in a corner of the large main room and did a quick inventory of what supplies he had left. Some dried brahmin meat, a canteen that was mostly filled with water and a bottle that was roughly two thirds filled with whiskey. It wouldn't last long, but he'd be able to do some hunting once the group was settled in.

"There is a water pump under the large tree."

Preston nearly jumped out of his skin when the stranger spoke up. He spun around and saw the giant watching him, looking faintly amused. "What?" Preston asked.

"Clean water. Just follow the road towards the large tree, the pump is there." The man repeated. His accent was distinct, unfamiliar but he spoke clearly and carefully to make certain he was understood.

"Oh, uh thanks." 

The stranger watched him, and Preston felt a bit intimidated. Between the odd coloring, scarred face and tall stature the stranger managed to be more imposing than the most violent raider. 

"Ilya." The stranger told him, after a moment. When Preston didn't reply he continued, "Ilya Kalashnikov. My name."

Well, that was a mouthful. Something must have shown on his face because Ilya laughed.

"You haven't met many Russians I see." Ilya's smile was wide and showed teeth that were clean and healthy, the tell tale marker of a vault dweller. "But, since you also have not shot at me yet, I will take that as one small benefit."

"So," Preston said, not sure what a 'Russian' was and wasn't really sure if he wanted to know. "You mentioned you were from here?"

Ilya nodded, "Yes. I have been here for nearly a year now. I do not have much, but am happy to share what I have."

"So you're a farmer?" Preston asked.

Ilya shrugged. "I grow food, hunt also. When the growing is done, I travel. "

"Right, to look for your son." Preston remembered. "I'm surprised you're settled anywhere. it's hard to find missing folks these days."

"When I find Shaun, I want to be sure there is a place for us to come back to." Ilya gestured for Preston to follow him. "I have kept this place as safe as I can. It is difficult to build proper defenses while alone. One man can only carry so much."

Preston suspected the blond giant could carry a lot more than he himself would ever be able to manage.

"You will need to know how to spot my defenses if you plan to patrol." Ilya explained as he led the pair of them behind the row of houses closest to the woods. "There are landmines and trip wires threaded along the outside of the hedges here. You see there? The tall grass." It took a moment but Preston spotted the trap, a thin black wire laid out close to the ground and what looked like an old lunch box that had been painted brown with mud sitting on the ground. "They are spaced randomly throughout the tall grass. Many of the trees also contain surprises." He pointed toward one of the healthier looking trees a few yards away. A grenade bouquet was hung from one of the higher branches. 

"Have a lot of trouble with raiders?" Preston asked.

Ilya chuckled darkly. "Not any more." He led Preston toward the river. "There can be bears. I find if I leave them be they will do the same."

"Bears?" Preston had a sudden vision of a man sized teddy bear, complete with faded plush fur and button eyes.

"Hmm, how to describe..." Ilya frowned in thought. "Very large, walks on all fours and are usually very mangy looking. Dark fur when they have any."

"Sounds like yao guai." Preston told him. Now that was a creature he'd rather avoid a fight with too. 

"Ah, 'demons'. Good to know." Ilya nodded his thanks for the information and gestured down toward the riverbank. "You should avoid walking too close to the riverbank. There are mines."

"Any plans to set up turrets?" Preston asked.

"Eventually. Ammunition is expensive and difficult to make, so for now, walls are better." Ilya pointed toward what looked like an old aircraft turbine mounted up on top of a high scaffold. "I was here perhaps a month when I found a crashed aeroplane a few miles from here. I was able to take apart the most intact engine and rebuild it here. There was plenty of steel left when I was last there. It could be retrieved and used to build walls around the settlement. Keep out the yao guai." 

"You've put a lot of work into this place, just on your own." Preston told him, impressed.

"This is as good a place as any to build a new home." Ilya shrugged. "Right now it is not very interesting for raiders, but they will eventually come. Они размножаются, как грызуны."

The giant grinned at Preston's confused expression. "Sleep. You have all had a hard journey. This will all still be here come morning." The pair wandered back towards the yellow house, and parted ways at the sidewalk. 

Preston watched the stranger, Ilya now, walk into the mostly repaired house across the street. The last Minuteman wasn't quite ready to be hopeful, not after all the bad luck they had since being driven out of Quincy. But maybe this would be a decent chance for a new start.

\---

The survivors were woken by the sound of construction. Marcy nearly fired off a round in panic before remembering where they were, and Preston could feel each one of his senses kicking into overdrive. From where she sat by a cooking fire, a large pot suspended over it bubbling away happily, Mama Murphy laughed at them.

"Sleep well?" She asked teasingly, stirring the mixture slowly.

"What the hell is going on?" Marcy demanded, still searching for the source of the unexpected noise. Mama Murphy said nothing, but pointed up at the dilapidated roof of their shelter.

It was hard to make out, but Preston was fairly certain he could see the stranger (Ilya damn it, the man had a name strange as it was) laying squared off pieces of salvaged metal over the exposed section of the roof and hammering them into place with heavy rivets. "Boy's been at it since sunup." Mama Murphy informed them. "Said it wasn't right letting neighbors sleep under a leaking roof."

"Ah, Доброе утро, товарищи! Apologies, I had not intended to wake you." Ilya called down from where he worked. "Have you burned the Каша yet Mama Murphy?"

"No more so than the last time you asked." The old seer replied. To the rest of the group she explained, "The boy brought breakfast. I told him I'd watch it while he got to work on the roof."  
"What is it?" Marcy ask suspiciously.

"It's food." Sturges pointed out, "And we ain't in a position to be picky." He took the chipped bowl Mama Murphy handed him and inhaled. "Stuff don't smell half bad."

"Enjoy, the rain will have ruined that гречиха if it is not eaten soon." Ilya told them.

"This looks like razorgrain." Jun said, inspecting the steaming mixture curiously. He took a cautious bite, and his whole face lit up. "It's sweet!"

"There's a few mutfruit trees growing out near the old playground. " Mama Murphy told them.

Preston tucked into a bowl for himself, and had to agree that it was delicious. It was hot, a bit sweet and best of all it silenced the gnawing hunger that the survivors had been feeling for the past week or so. 

While the group ate, Ilya worked on fixing the roof, which if Preston was being honest wasn't much of a roof to begin with. Occasionally the giant would climb down from his perch and collect a new stack of the tiles from his work bench. He hummed a tune none of the recognized, occasionally belting out lyrics in his bizarre language. Sturges finished first and handed his scraped bowl back to Mama Murphy who'd told them not to worry, she'd clean them later. The engineer wandered outside and began talking to himself, working out a plan for the repairs that would be needed and which ones would be the most urgent to finish.

"I'm going to patrol, don't want any raiders to get too close." Marcy declared, ignoring her husband's attempt to get her attention before grabbing her pistol and heading out. 

"You go on now Preston. "Mama Murphy told him, "You and Marcy can work out patrols while Jun and I see about what needs doing around here."

"You sure Mama Murphy?" Preston asked, not entire sure if he was comfortable with leaving the rest of the group on their own.

"We'll be fine. Go on, and when you figure out what you need to do next you come back and tell the boy all about it." The seer urged. 

"I have not been called a boy in many many years Mama Murphy." Ilya called down from the roof. 

The old woman cackled and covered the cooking pot as she hefted it off of it's tripod and away from the fire. "Oh I know boy, more years than anyone else might realize. You'll always be a boy to me."

"И все же я достаточно взрослый, чтобы быть твоим дедом."

Mama Murphy laughed again while Jun busied himself putting out the cooking fire. Preston took the heavy pot from the seer and she directed where it should be stored. "We're gonna need to figure out what we have left for supplies." Preston told her. "I figure I'll do some hunting, see if I can't refresh our rations a bit."

"Sounds like a plan." Sturges' head peered around the door frame, a box laden with assorted junk in his arms. "No worries boss, we got things here." He called up to where Ilya had wedged himself securely onto the roof. "How much longer do you figure?"

The giant inspected his work appraisingly. "A few more hours for this part. Then I will begin patching the holes in the walls of the main room."

"You really gonna fix that whole house huh?" Sturges grinned.

"It will be, I think perhaps a week until the entire structure is made livable again. Once the main room is finished I will need to collect more materials, but that is a small matter. Simple." Ilya informed the other man. "Then, perhaps I will see what can be done for the inside."

"A'ight then." Sturges acknowledged. "I'm gonna go ahead and start sortin' through what you've got here. See if I can't come up with a list of essentials we'll need."

Mama Murphy led Jun around the dilapidated houses, looking for any places where new crops could be planted. Behind the blue house where Ilya resided was a modest but well tended garden. Most of the space was dominated by razorgrain, harvested recently if the old woman guessed correctly. Off to one side was a few carrot plants and some tato vines. The small mutfruit tree that had supplied their breakfast was wedged into the broken space between the hedges. "Not a bad start." Mama Murphy said, approvingly. "Should be able to get a few more gardens started with some of what's here."

"I wonder if there're any other farms close by." Jun rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We might be able to trade for some new plants or seeds."

"Hmm, I think the Abernathy's live close to here." The seer inspected the nearest tato plant thoughtfully. "Could be worth a trip."

"Getting new plots ready will take work, but I think we should be able to get a new garden set up behind the other house in a few days." Jun told her, "I'll see what sort of tools we'll have to work with."

"Speak with the boy while you're at it." Mama Murphy suggested, "He knows the ground here, might be willing to offer some suggestions."

"Might I be of some assistance sir? Madam?" The cheerful synthisized voice of a Mr. Handy unit had the pair looking around curiously. The slightly battered looking robot came around the far corner of the house, pincer hand clicking together expectantly.

"W-who are you?" Jun asked, looking about ready to bolt.

"I am Codsworth, caretaker, gardener and valet for Master Ilya." The robot introduced himself. "Sir informed me that some new neighbors had finally moved in and I must say it is delightful to have more people around. You seem like a lovely sort." The robot floated over toward one of the tato vines and began to carefully water the dried ground around the roots.

"We're trying to get some new crops planted actually." Jun explained quietly.

"Ah excellent, I can most certaintly assist you in this venture." Codsworth assure them. "It will take some work I'm afraid before anything other than weeds will sprout from these yards, but I will assist you in finding a location for your new garden."

"Lead the way." Mama Murphy nodded and the robot bobbed up and down cheerfully. 

"Of course madam." The robot led the pair back across the street and around the the back yard of the yellow house where Sturges and the stranger were still working. "The old fences will need to be torn down I'm afraid, but the old playground should serve your needs quite well. The back yards of several of the old houses all met here, so the neighborhood all pitched in to set up the play area for the children. It was only in place for a week before the bombs came." The Mr. Handy unit pointed out the area in question. "The ground will need to be tilled quite thoroughly before any planting can be done I'm afraid. It is packed down quite firmly. A bit of fertilizer would go a long way as well, I believe there is a bag or two stored away somewhere."

"Any idea where I can find a shovel, maybe a hoe?" Jun asked. 

"Of course sir, Master Ilya keeps his gardening tools stowed near his workbench beneath the car port." Codsworth rotated it's body and pointed toward the tools in question with it's pincer arm. "I shall go fetch the fertilizer for you as well." The robot flared its thrusters and zipped off across the street to vanish behind another house.

Mama Murphy scratched her cheek thoughtfully before stretching her arms back over head with a series of quiet pops. "Well then, time to get to work."

\----------

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I should keep pottering around with this. Thoughts?
> 
> Russian translations (provided by Google)
> 
> Они размножаются, как грызуны (They breed like rodents)
> 
> Доброе утро, товарищи! (good morning comrades) 
> 
> Каша ([kasha] porridge)
> 
> И все же я достаточно взрослый, чтобы быть твоим дедом. (and yet I am old enough to be your grandfather).


End file.
